We're approaching a year from when I first took over the reins from the venerable Jim Helsby as your tour guide through the world of bottled beer so I thought I deserved a treat.

Instead of reaching for some form of small-batch, uniquely crafted ultra-beer, I've gone for one of the few seasonal releases I actually can't wait to get my hands on.

I don't have a 'favourite' beer, it's too hard to pick, and mood and circumstance skew the choice too much to make a definitive choice, but this would probably be a contender for me.

Odell's summer seasonal release, St Lupulin is a fragrantly hopped, smooth-drinking pale ale that I could happily drink every night for a month without growing bored.

Pouring vibrant gold with a dense, creamy white head that laces beautifully down the glass, the aroma is stunning: pears and peaches play against a background of apricots and lemon sherbet, with a touch of oat cream providing vanilla and a velvety smoothness.

Lemon oil and cardamom give way to a perfectly balanced verdant bitterness: bitter orange peel and mangoes rise to offset almonds and dripping plumbs, backed by a light but slightly sweet malt backbone.

Moderate to dry body with just the right amount of bitterness – there isn't much more to say, except, of course, that this beer is brilliant.

Recommended by Michael Bates,Trembling Madness, Stonegate, York